GPS system says who goes first to emergencies

Feb. 28, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Kelly Hartigan, 42, of Chino Hills is a dispatcher II at the Metro Net Dispatch Center in Anaheim, which fields calls for fire stations in Fountain Valley and other cities throughout Orange County. The Automated Vehicle Locators allow dispatchers to view the callers location down to the exact house number, as well as the nearest fire truck to that position. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Capt. Tim Finucan, 56, has been with the Fountain Valley Fire Department for 28 years and has nothing but positive feedback for the recently upgraded dispatch system. Finucan said that by incorporating Automated Vehicle Locators, the fire department is "utilizing the technology that we have today to help us do our jobs." MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Fountain Valley fire Capt. Tim Finucan, 56, demonstrates how the AVLs would allow him to view the location of a caller during an emergency. The illuminated map display is easier to read and less cumbersome than traditional maps, which increases the efficiency of the entire navigation process. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Anita Arciniega, 49, of Chino Hills is a dispatcher II at the Metro Net Dispatch Center in Anaheim. The new Automated Vehicle Locators allow dispatchers like Arciniega to pinpoint a caller's location and to help direct fire fighters to that exact spot. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Anita Arciniega, 49, of Chino Hills is a dispatcher II at the Metro Net Dispatch Center in Anaheim. The new Automated Vehicle Locators allow dispatchers like Arciniega to pinpoint a caller's location and to help direct fire fighters to that exact spot. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Kelly Hartigan, 42, of Chino Hills is a dispatcher II at the Metro Net Dispatch Center in Anaheim, which fields calls for fire stations in Fountain Valley and other cities throughout Orange County. The Automated Vehicle Locators allow dispatchers to view the callers location down to the exact house number, as well as the nearest fire truck to that position. MACKENZIE REISS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

By the numbers

446,000 Dollars authorized for installing new hardware and software under two Urban Areas Securities Initiative grants.

2 Fire stations in Fountain Valley, which house 39 field-operations personnel, two front-line engines, one ladder truck, one reserve engine and one California State Emergency Management Agency engine.

Potential Issues with CAD

Even though the automated vehicle locators, part of computer-assisted dispatch (CAD), have been operational in cities worldwide, there is still the potential for problems, according to Metro Net manager Gary Gionet. Here are some examples:

The system works similar to Google Maps and, similarly, the dispatch's maps may lose a street or not account for a dead end, causing a unit to be dispatched that may not actually be the closest.

Each fire department must select a carrier to provide coverage (Verizon, Sprint, etc.). If the network goes down, the dispatch center will have to revert to the station-based locators.

As with any advanced technology, the modems may, from time to time, stop working.

A woman driving west on Garfield in Fountain Valley recently saw an unconscious man on the sidewalk. Concerned, she drove to a nearby restaurant and called 911.

The Feb. 21 call was patched through to the Metro Cities Fire Authority in Anaheim, which alerted the Fountain Valley Fire Department.

When dispatch decided which unit to send to find the man lying on the sidewalk, it chose based on the closest station – Station No. 1 – even though the truck was not in the station.

For more than a decade, the Metro Cities Fire Authority, or Metro Net, has used a system that, while adequate, has lacked the modern technology that would allow its dispatchers to more efficiently notify first responders.

But now, the fire authority is in the process of implementing automated vehicle locators (basically advanced GPS) in a system that can signal rescue units to arrive at crises an average of 45 seconds sooner.

Thanks to two federal grants totaling nearly $450,000, the transition is nearly complete, with Fountain Valley Fire Department set to go live within 60 days. Once Fountain Valley has operated under the new system for 30 days, the other seven – Anaheim, Brea, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Orange – will join on in varying capacities.

The difference between the old system and the new is a matter of adaptability. Both processes begin the same way: someone dialing 911 and being connected to a dispatcher, who then alerts the closest unit. Both systems rely upon computerized mapping software (called computer-assisted dispatch, or CAD), which can determine the closest unit in nanoseconds.

Under the old system, however, the computer determined which units to send based on the locations of fire stations as opposed to the actual location of the trucks, engines and ambulances.

The automated vehicle locators will rectify that inefficiency by updating the dispatch computers with the real-time location of the units, allowing them to send whichever truck is nearest a particular emergency.

"It will have a significant impact on response time," said fire authority manager Gary Gionet, noting that during the day, firefighters may be out of quarters doing anything from training to visiting schools. "(The software) is better at tracking and is more reliable."

Implementing the automated vehicle locator system is being done in three steps: First, after receiving a $271,000 grant from the federal Urban Areas Securities Initiative last year, the Metro Cities Fire Authority began installing the tracking devices – basically superior Wi-Fi modems – in the trucks. (Anaheim, the last of the cities to receive its modems, will complete its installations by the end of February.) Second, the authority will use another $175,000 grant to upgrade the dispatch center's software to handle the real-time data transmitted from the trucks. Third, Fountain Valley will test the system.

If there are no bugs – like the network losing a signal, for example – the automated vehicle locator system will go live across the region.

Gionet, though, doesn't expect any hiccups. Automated vehicle locators have been used in dispatch centers worldwide for a decade. Lewis was working for the Santa Rosa Fire Department in Northern California in 2005 when it implemented this same system. They've had no problems, Lewis said. And the fire authority went across state lines to research the Phoenix Fire Department's dispatch system, which became the model, Gionet said.

It was decided by the authority and the eight fire chiefs that it was time for them to implement 21st-century technology.

"It has a lot of potential to help," said Fountain Valley fire Capt. Bill McQuaid. "It's bringing the right resources to the right place at the right time."

Fountain Valley Battalion Chief Tony Coppolino

"We have to see how technology fits into fire service. What we've recognized is that we haven't been using technology to our advantage. And this will really improve service. I want to see it happen soon. "

Fountain Valley fire Capt. Bill McQuaid

"If there is a fire, it will get us there faster. It will allow us to better deploy our apparatus to different spots."

Metro Net Dispatch Manager Gary Gionet

"I think it will have the biggest impact during the day. At night, probably not as much because the units will be in their stations and there are less calls. But I think it will have a significant impact."

Anita Arciniega, 11-year Metro Net dispatcher

"It will be interesting to see how (the new system) improves dispatch. We can currently tell which trucks are driving around, but it's really slow. This should help."

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